Tokyo Ghoul: Child of the Binge Eater
by KageTheBingeEater
Summary: Yoshimura is given a child one night by a mysterious purple-haired woman who wants him to take care of it. How will Yoshimura handle the child and how will the child take on the life of a Ghoul? You can find out in Tokyo Ghoul: Child of The Binge Eater!
1. Child of The Binge Eater

Deep in an alley not illuminated by the street lights, a tall, older, man seemed like he was waiting for someone. It was only his ghoul senses that allowed him to see, smell, and hear all that was going on around him.

His black cloak fluttered in the wind, as he placed a hand on the beige hat on his head to prevent it from falling. A number of his white hairs could be seen. Overall, his appearance was that of an older gentleman.

Eyes closed, he was hearing for anything approaching him. Soon, the sound of hurried footsteps reached his ear. Opening one of his eyes and looking to his left, the man saw a woman with long purple hair that complimented her hourglass figure.

The woman seemed very paranoid, as every few steps she would take a look behind herself to see if anyone was following her. When getting closer to the older gentleman, he saw her wearing a white dress with blue sleeves. Her eyes were covered by red-framed glasses, though the frame only covered the lower half of the lens.

A portion of her cleavage was shown, but it was mostly covered by the bundle she was carefully carried. Looking around one more time the woman finally approached the older gentleman.

"Yoshimura-San, I'm glad that you came."

Closing his left eye once more, the man now named Yoshimura had more than a few questions. Having found the note asking him to come to the alley near the cafe he was the manager of was already suspicious.

"It is common courtesy to give your name first Miss ..."

The purple-haired woman seemed slightly on edge like she wanted the conversation to be over as quickly as possible. Looking down at the bundle in her arms then back up at the man in front of her, the worried look on her face was evident.

"My name isn't important. I have you heard that you run a Ghoul cafe in the Twentieth Ward. Please, I beg of you, take care of him."

The woman moved a piece of cloth to show a baby, peacefully sleeping. The baby looked like it inherited its mothers' hair. Hearing the baby softly snoring, Yoshimures' face softened.

"Life in the Twentieth Ward is much more peaceful and safe than in the Eighteenth. I don't want to raise him somewhere he could be killed when he learns to walk. He's just three months old. Please, take him in."

The woman began to hand Yoshimura the baby, which he carefully took into his arms. A few tears began to swell up in her eyes.

"Thank you. I guess the Ghouls I talked to were right, you truly are a generous Ghoul."

Wiping the tears from her eyes, the young woman turned her back to Yoshimura and began walking away. Yoshimura couldn't help himself and raised his voice enough for the woman to hear him.

"Miss, will you ever come back to see him?"

The woman stopped dead in her tracks. Turning her head to the right, Yoshimura could see the sad smile on her face. She truly wanted to be with her son, but her current living arrangement and lifestyle didn't allow her to do so.

"I'll be back one day."

Continuing her walk, a few tears finally dropped down her face. She knew this was for the best, but it didn't make it hurt any less. Exiting the alley, she took one last look at Yoshimura and her son in his hands.

"By the way, his name is Kage."

And with those, the woman disappeared, not being seen again in the Twentieth Ward for a long. Yoshimura felt that the woman would return, yet something told him it wouldn't just be to see her son.

From one of the buildings that made up the alley, a figure jumped down. The tall man, whos well-built body was behind a long trenchcoat stood beside Yoshimura. His head was covered by his silver hair, while on his chan there was a small stubble. His light-blue eyes held an immovable, stone-like glare at the sleeping baby in Yoshimuras' arms.

Yoshimuras' gaze was still on the corner where the mysterious woman disappeared, thoughts on who she was and where she came from. Felling the wind blow once more, his gaze finally dropped to the baby he was holding. The cover in which the baby was in managed to keep it warm in the quite sharp and windy weather.

What caught his attention was something shiny placed beside the baby in the cover. Picking it up, Yoshimura saw it was a silver ring. On the top, the ring was black with the kanji for love written on it in black.

Placing the ring where it was found, Yoshimura began walking out the alley, calling the taller man.

"Come on Yomo, let's head back."

**Long Timeskip**

Raising a child was hard, no matter the age and Yoshimura was aware of that. However, if you're in charge of a cafe during that time, things have a chance of becoming harder.

The shifts in the cafe began to change. Kage was very selective of who liked. Those that Kage liked usually worked less, using the rest of their time to tend to and play with him. Others, who Kage wasn't very fond of, found themselves working more to cover up for those who were liked by the small child.

It had now been five months since Kage was left in the care of the group Anteiku. Since then, they have all tried their best to keep the child safe and entertained.

The one that the child liked the most and also the one that cared the most for the child was the same person that the child was given to. Every day, Yoshimura would play with the child as much as the time allowed him to do so and, like everyone, grew very attached to him.

Seeing Kage take his first steps filled Yoshimura with pride and excitement. He even remembered when he called him Jiji (Old man) for the first time. After a long talk with the staff, the culprit for teaching the child the word was never found.

While Kage didn't like Yomo per se, he didn't cause any trouble while with him. He preferred to sleep while Yomo was the one around him. Upon first hearing that, the rest of the staff started calling Yomo when the child didn't want to fall asleep. Though, the calls mostly came from Enji and Kaya.

Speaking of the two, Kage didn't exactly like them. Like Kaya once said, he wants to watch them burn. Their time meant for playing with the child was usually spent dodging the accurately thrown toys. And things didn't exactly become better when Kage learned to walk.

Anytime either of them would fall or hurt themselves in any way, a laugh was heard from the small child. At first, they would all laugh it off, not thinking much of it. But it would turn out that as time went on that his laughter caused by others' pain didn't stop.

That led to Enji dubbing him 'The Little Sadist'.

The two worked more than the others, but they never complained. Often mumbling something about a demon child when it was their turn to watch him.

Overall, the time spent caring for and raising the child was peaceful. The customers were always glad to see Kage. After learning to walk, he picked up the habit of walking out of his room and 'interacting' with the customers.

That mostly consisted of the customers talking about how cute he is and simply walking around. Not wanting to take care of him, Enji and Kaya would oftentimes take him out and let the customers look after him while they took a break or were taking and making orders.

His purple hair grew longer and reached the nape of his neck. It also complimented his eyes which were purple as well, something the customers constantly brought up.

In the covers that Kage was found in the ring wasn't the only thing with him. A note was also found later on while changing him for the first time. The note simply had his name and date of birth, June Ninth, beautifully written down.

But, while the child was still small, it had a very big appetite. It was something that made Anteiku wonder about his parents. Was his appetite something unique to him, or do his parents have a similar trait?

While Anteiku didn't know the answer to that question, they knew they had to acquire more meat than usual to satisfy both the needs of other Ghouls and also the needs of the small child.

During the five months of Kages' stay Anteiku, Yoshimura constantly asked around for a Ghoul that fit the description of Kages' mother. While nothing turned up, Yoshimura still believed the woman was out there and that one day she would visit.

**So that was the first chapter of the story. Please comment what you think. I'm still mostly new to writing so any constructive criticism is very much appreciated. The next chapter will be longer, this was just the introduction. I'll see you in the next chapter! Ja Ne!**


	2. New Addition to Anteiku

"Arigatou! Please come again!"

A seemingly happy customer was walking out of the Anteiku Coffe Shop, listening to the goodbyes of the young waiter standing behind the bar.

The waiter was about fifteen years old but was what quite a few of the female customers often came to Anteiku for. His violet hair tied up in a low ponytail, two bangs covering the sides of his face, with his violet eyes sometimes making customers forget their order.

Even though he has grown up, Kage would see a few older men and women that said they saw him often during their coffee at Anteiku when he was a baby. They would always leave a tip for him, saying he should use it to treat his girlfriend.

While the warm smile seemed everpresent on Kage's face, it was there only while the customers were there. While Kage wasn't necessarily a loner, he preferred the silence.

It was just something about people and Ghouls that just pissed him off. They were always rambling about useless things and rumors. But, Anteiku being a coffee shop, it wasn't easy to get away from the rambling.

Sighing, Kage looked at the black mechanical watch on his left wrist. Seeing he still had an hour till his shift was finished, he reached underneath the bar and pulled out a hard-cover book titled "The Black Goat's Egg."

Skipping over a large part of the book, Kage seemed like he was on the last few pages. The only sounds in the cafe was that of a watch ticking and, from time to time, the sound of a page-turning.

Around ten more minutes passed, as Kage finally closed the book. Sighing once more, his gaze remained on the cover of the book, while voicing his thoughts out loud.

"I wonder when she's gonna release her next book. I already read this one twice."

While not a very big fan of literature, it was something to pass the time. At first, Kage would try and read the newspapers, but the negative things said about Ghouls pushed him back. He soon found out about the writer Sen Taktsuki while overhearing some of the customers.

Not thinking much of it at first, he picked up a copy of her work called "Monochrome Rainbow." Not long after he found himself reading her titles constantly while on break.

The door that leads to the back of the cafe opened and Kage's father figure stepped out. The snow haired man, Yoshimura, found Kage staring at his favorite piece of reading material.

"Kage-Kun."

The older mans' voice reached the young waiter, who took his eyes off the book and looked at the man that raised him. While Yoshimura's eyes were closed most of the time, Kage learned to partially read the man. And the small smile on his face helped him out that much more.

"After the store closes for the day, I need you to come down here. We're gonna have some guests."

The bored look on Kage's face brought a smile to the face of the older man. Working at the cafe was already more than enough people for Kage. So staying after work to meet with more people, Ghoul or not, was already annoying Kage.

But seeing the look on Yoshimura's face, Kage knew this wasn't a request, more of an order.

"Fine, but they better not stay too long."

Turning his back to Kage, the smile on Yoshimura's face only grew larger.

"I have a feeling that they're gonna be staying a lot longer than you think, Kage-Kun."

Knowing that this greatly amused the older man, Kage growled and turned his head back to his watch, waiting for the shift to finish.

_**Short Timeskip**_

Walking up the steps to his apartment, which was just above Anteiku, Kage was releasing the hold of his tie. While the uniform was something that Kage despised, it was needed for work, so he couldn't simply burn it.

Finally coming up to his apartment, Kage made his way inside and immediately started to undress. While he didn't have a problem with uniforms, this one was just uncomfortable.

Putting on a black tracksuit, Kage layed down on his bed, shirtless. Closing his eyes, he felt the sleep get to him and, before he knew it, he was out cold.

The dream, however, was one that always repeated as soon as Kage fell asleep. It felt like it was on repeat. Turning his head left and right, Kage was met with the usual scenery.

A field of white flowers surrounded him and seemed like it never ended. The nights mostly went by with Kage walking around the fields before waking up. But tonight seemed different.

Feeling he wasn't alone, his eyes darted back and forth in search of someone. While it was only his instinct telling him there was someone else here, Kage learned to trust his instinct over the years.

Finally seeing nothing, Kage's had dropped. He finally thought he was going to find answers about this place. But not long after, a cute giggle was reached Kage's ears. Turning around as quickly as possible, his vision started turning white. He felt himself waking up.

But not before his vision caught a few strands of purple hair.

Slowly fluttering his eyes open, Kage saw the tall form of Yomo Renji standing above him.

"Looks like you're finally awake. Come on, it's time to meet up with Yoshimura-San."

Getting up without a word, Kage began to stretch, seeing Yomo exiting his room. Grabbing a nearby all-black shirt and quickly putting it on, after which Kage tied a pair of red trainers on his feet before making his way out.

Making his way towards the cafe, Kage was met with a rather unexpected sight.

Around one of the tables, Yoshimura was sitting with two kids both of which were sitting across from him. The boy and the girl were both seemingly younger than Kage.

The girl seemed about a year younger, with bob-length purple hair. Her blue eyes stared at Kage, analyzing him. Behind her, a shorter boy who looked almost the same as her, except his hair was shorter and messy, was hiding.

Smelling the air, Kage's Ghoul sense helped him grab on to the smell of the two younger kids at the table. Since he could smell them, that meant they were Ghouls. But their scent was rather weak, which meant their RC Levels were low, which meant that they were probably weak.

While there was a chance they were hiding their RC Levels, Kage found it hard to believe, as it was something that not even he could do.

Looking unimpressed at the younger Ghouls, Kage's gaze went to the old man.

"And these are?"

A smile popped up on the old man's face.

"These are Touka and Ayato Kirishima. They will be staying with you until their room is set up. It's your job to teach them their way around."

Not bothering to hide the annoyed look on his face, Kage's gaze went to the kids at the table once more.

"In other words, you want me to take care of these brats, am I correct?"

The girl now named Touka growled at the year older boy, as her younger brother completely hid behind her.

"Now Kage, don't be rude to our new guests. That's not how I taught you after all."

Kage only 'hned' at the older man and told the younger kids to follow him. Yoshimura only nodded, and Touka grabbed her little brother's hand and started to follow the rude boy up the stairs.

Walking into the apartment, Touka soon realized it wasn't that large.

"You have a bathroom immediately to the left after that is the bedroom where you'll be sleeping tonight and up ahead is the living room and kitchen. Do what you want, I don't really care, just try not to wake me up."

Kage walked into the living room and fell on the couch. Placing his hands behind his head, the sleep caught up to Kage once more.

Seeing that, Touka and Ayato decided to do the same, still tired from traveling across the Twentieth Ward.

_**Long Timeskip**_

The morning sun rose as the light hit the sleeping Ghoul's face, waking him up.

After a few minutes of willing himself to get, Kage looked up to see the clock saying it was 6:50. Putting on his uniform, Kage began his daily job routine: read before work, work, read on break, work, read on break, and by then his shift was over.

Even though Anteiku opened at seven, customers usually started coming in at eight, so there was enough time for Kage to completely wake up.

Reaching the bar, Kage lifted his gaze from the ground to see Touka making coffee, with Yoshimura following her movements.

"So teaching her the basics?"

Without looking up, Yoshimura knew very well the voice of the Ghoul coming close.

"Good morning to you too Kage-Kun. I decided to do it myself, considering that you would just let her start working at a cafe shop without knowing how to make a cup of coffee."

A smirk crossed the face of the Ghoul now standing next to Yoshimura.

"Oh, you know me so well Jiji."

"There are some more things I need to talk to you about. Touka's already informed about this, but after you finish your shift you have to take her around and show her how to deal with the more ... hostile Ghouls."

Kage grunted in response. Not being a fan of people or Ghouls made Kage go everywhere alone and hunting and beating up hostile Ghouls weren't an exception.

The first customer walked through the door and greeted the trio behind the bar, asking for a cup of coffee.

Kage knew a long day was ahead of him.

_**Long Timeskip**_

After finally dressing something more comfortable, Kage was waiting for Touka in front of Anteiku. Seeing her walk down the stairs in tomboyish streetwear, Kage began walking ahead, not waiting for Touka to catch up.

"So where are we going?"

A slightly out of breath Touka asked the older boy.

"A Ghoul is terrorizing some people in Anteiku territory. And Anteiku being Anteiku, wants me to take care of it."

A confused look dawned on Touka's face.

"And why you exactly?"

"Becuase as Jiji once said, I'm good at being a waiter only because I look good, but besides that, I'm only good at writing, eating, and fighting."

Not asking any more questions, Touka's gaze went on the road ahead of them. Not long after, the two took a left and found themselves in an alley.

Seeing nothing around, Touka stood confused for a second.

"Come down here!"

Kage's loud voice snapped Touka out of her confusion as a Ghoul dropped down from a small building with a partially eaten corpse on it's shoulder. Dropping the corpse to the side a smirk appeared on the Ghoul's face.

"Well, well, if it isn't Anteiku's enforcer. Or as you're better known on the streets, The Binge Eater."

Touka looked at the taller boy next to her. She heard about the Binge Eater before and how she killed and ate a lot more than necessary.

"Eh, you kill and eat a few Ghouls and Humans and all of a sudden you're the next Binge Eater."

'The next? What does he mean by that?'

Touka was currently trying to wrap her mind around what Kage said. Did he mean that there was more than one Binge Eater? The smirk remained on the Ghoul's face.

"From some reports, you look a lot like the first one, so who's to say that you're really not The Binge Eater."

"Enough of this bullshit, you know why I'm here. Now either get out of here or I'll kill you."

The way those words left Kage's mouth made Touka take a step back. He said them so nonchalantly like. Like he didn't even care.

"You know I always wanted to see what the Anteiku Enforcer is made out of."

The Ghoul took off in a sprint towards Kage, faster than Touka could see.

However, before the Ghoul could inflict any kind of damage, blood began to pour out of its mouth. A hand was lodged into its stomach and the force lifted it off the ground a bit.

Before the Ghould could catch a breath, Kage placed a strong kick on its chin, kicking it high up in the air. Using his Ghoul strength, Kage jumped above the man and ax kicked him back into the ground where the body made a small crater.

Falling down next to him, Kage looked into his half-dead eyes. Using his right hand, he reached into the Ghoul's chest and pulled his heart out, before tightly squeezing and crushing it.

Touka's eyes widened and she took another step back. Kage looked at her. Her eyes widened even more.

Looking at his face, the Kakugan was only present in his right eye, while the left remained normal.

Looking as uninterested as ever, Kage only raised an eyebrow at her.

"Get back to Anteiku while I ... dispose of these two."

Silently nodding her head, Touka started to run towards Anteiku.

_**Timeskip**_

Touka finally calmed down at Anteiku after talking to Yoshimura, who explained that Kage was a one-eyed Ghoul, probably because one of his parents was a human while the other one was a Ghoul.

He also talked to her about finding him in an alley abandoned as a baby.

The same story he told Kage.

Not wanting to have Kage place himself in danger while looking for his mother, Yoshimura simply told him how he found crying in an alley.

While that didn't stop Kage from trying to find his mother, it at least kept him at bay for a while until he gets stronger. Yoshimura simply planned to tell him at a later date, when he feels Kage is ready.

The silence of the empty cafe was broken by the sound of the bell ringing. Looking up Touka saw a horrifying sight.

It was Kage with his mouth completely bloody. A smirk was on his face as he only continued walking past the bar and approached Yoshimura.

They exchanged a few silent words and Kage went through the door that led to the back of the cafe shop.

Still silent, Touka decided not to poke around and simply drank her coffee.

There was something strange about Kage and she needed to know what.

While she did want to know, fear was still present inside her of going into the same room as Kage.

**That was all for this chapter. This is just the story before Kankei's accident and it's gonna last a couple of chapters, after which I'll start doing the original story. Please comment what you think and I'll see you in the next chapter! Ja Ne!**


	3. The Writer Behind The Words

The morning sun rose and illuminated the modern city Tokyo. While still early, kids were in school and grown-ups were making their way to work. Being as productive and advanced meant that the people had to work long and hard to maintain their lifestyle.

But it wasn't only the humans that were awakened by the rays of light.

Ghouls, just like humans, started going to work. It was another attempt to hide as members of society and not arouse suspicion. While a large number of Ghouls worked, there were always those only worried about food.

Those kinds of Ghouls usually hunted all day long. And because of those 'habits', they were usually caught and killed or contained by the CCG rather quickly. There were those, like The Binge Eater, who seemed uncatchable.

But while the Ghoul World had its problems and fears, there was one place where both Ghouls and Humans seemed to, at least, tolerate each other.

The Twentieth Ward had its reasons for being peaceful. It was a territory run by a group named Anteiku, whose leader believed that Ghouls could truly coexist with Humans.

Yoshimura's beliefs soon spread to those that worked under him. The Ghouls were powerful in their own right, but he managed to clear their minds and show them a world where they truly could live among humans.

While Yoshimura was strong, as were those under him, he never neglected the weaker Ghouls. Instead, he helped them. By having his workers collect suicide victims, he spread meat to those who couldn't hunt on their own.

Having powerful Ghouls by his side also helped Yoshimura take out those that wished to have the Twentieth Ward as their hunting ground. But after a few strong Ghouls disappeared without a trace, rumors spread that a Ghoul working with Anteiku was eating other, less cooperative, Ghouls.

The lack of any notable Ghouls and a very low crime rate led to the CCG to neglect the Twentieth Ward. Fewer and fewer Investigators, or Doves as they were known, were showing up in the Ward. Of course, a patrol was sent there about once a month, but nothing came from them.

The Twentieth Ward was officially the most peaceful one in Tokyo.

Ghouls came from all around Tokyo to the Twentieth Ward mostly because of the low number of CCG Investigators. They ended up staying after seeing they could live a semi-normal life and form a family.

While the situation was still peaceful, it was also a cause for concern on CCG's side. They presumed that either a very powerful Ghoul or a group of them resided in the Twentieth Ward, killing off other powerful Ghouls.

They began to send in a few more Investigators every month but overall, remained neutral towards the Twentieth Ward. After all, it was the only one not causing them trouble at the moment.

The sunlight finally reached the Caffee called Anteiku, as quite a few people were currently inside. A few were Ghouls, a few were Humans. Yet it seemed like they didn't care. It was a place they were all welcome in.

The Caffee was open for a long time now and was quite famous in the Twentieth Ward. It had some of the best coffee in Tokyo and welcomed everyone.

Behind the bar, a sixteen-year-old boy and fifteen-year-old girl were currently working on two cups of coffee for the new customers.

It had now been nearly half a year since Touka and her brother joined Anteiku. While Touka quickly learned her way around and became a very good waitress, her brother Ayato wasn't fond of his new situation. He looked at Humans as if they were below him and refused to serve them. He even denied Yoshimura or anyone else teaching him anything about making coffee.

After a few heavy arguments, the relationship between Touka and Ayato was very strained. Touka felt as if though the entire blame was on her, even when others tried to convince her otherwise.

But in the meantime, Touka tried her best to become a good waitress at Anteiku. Working as hard as she could, she was often praised by Yoshimura and others. Well, others except for Kage.

Feeling as if though Touka was just repaying her stay at Anteiku by working, Kage never bothered to praise her.

The two waiters placed the two coffees on a tray which was picked up by the older one. Picking up the tray, Kage made his way towards the couple sitting near a window. Approaching them, he flashed a smile, which they didn't see as their gazes were on each other. Making his way back towards the bar where Touka was cleaning some cups, Kage's gaze scanned the restaurant.

Both Ghouls and Humans happily coexisted among each other, though unaware. It was at this time that Kage's thoughts went back to Yoshimura's beliefs. That Ghouls and Humans could coexist. At first, Kage thought the idea was far fetched, even impossible. But it was days like these that made Kage think there may be a chance for such a crazy idea.

As it was time to end their shift, Kage and Touka made their way towards the back of the cafe through the nearby door. Koma and Irimi replaced them and started to serve the customers.

Walking into the backroom, Kage let out a deep sigh. Anteiku was very popular so the cafe could also be packed on workdays. On Sundays, it could be even worse. More people, more rumors, more work.

Placing a 'special' sugar cube into his ice coffee, Kage lightly sturred it and began to down his favorite drink. Feeling his Ghoul senses pick up an all to familiar smell, Kage stopped and toom a gaze around almost empty backroom. Seeing Yoshimura and Touka, he finished off the drink and made his way towards them.

"So, what's up?"

"Kage, you're aware that the number of Doves had increased in our area because of our ... incidents."

"Yeah so, what about them?"

"Considering that Touka is still quite inexperienced as a fighter if she encounters a Dove she'll either be killed or have her face seen and possibly have her little brother and Anteiku exposed. I need you to go with her and get her a mask. It was also time that you finally get one for yourself as well."

Another deep sigh escaped from the young waiter's mouth. This day just seemed to become worse and worse. First, a Sunday which was even more crowded than usual, after which he was given the job of getting the new girl a mask. Sure he was also going to get one for himself, but it didn't make it any less easy.

'Great, just great.'

"Fine, I'll go. I'll go get dressed and I suggest you do the same. We're leaving in five."

But before Kage could turn around and leave, a hand grabbed his shoulder. Not bothering to look back, Kage had a sensation he knew what it was about.

"Since today is Sunday and the cafe is more crowded than usual, I need you to help out Enjo and Irima after you come back. I would have Touka help them but she's not as experienced in these kinds of situations as you are."

"Well if she needs experience, then have her work tonight. She can't have experience if she doesn't work."

Yoshimura's hand dropped from the young man's shoulder. Turning and heading back towards the cafe he said his final words to the waiter.

"You're gonna work tonight and that's final."

Kage 'hned' and furiously got out of the room, slamming the door behind himself. Touka looked at Yoshimura's direction, then to one where Kage went. She made her way towards her room and began to change.

It didn't take long for the slightly furious Kage to get changed and exit Anteiku. Standing in front of Anteiku, his arms, and torso covered by a long-sleeved red shirt, as he waited for Touka. His legs adorned a pair of black, slim-fit, jeans. And on his feet, a pair of red, low-top, Converse sneakers covered short white socks.

His gaze still on the ground, sometimes taking a look at the mechanical black watch on his left hand. Still angry, not as much at the fact that he had to work longer on a busy day, but at the fact that Yoshimura ordered him around so much. While they were on very good terms, during the last year a few arguments arose between the two.

Most were about Kage trying to find his mother, with Yoshimura stopping him. They could even argue for an hour sometimes, without either of them giving an edge to the other. It often left the young man furious and sent him into an eating frenzy, but unbeknownst to him, the older man was suffering as well.

He simply couldn't tell Kage more about his mother, even after a description of a similar woman came from The Eleventh Ward. Yoshimura remembered the woman very well and was almost sure that it was her.

While this could be great news, especially for Kage, her description was given as a part of a search for a very dangerous Ghoul named 'The Binge Eater'. This description was, however, only a rumor. A few others were saying that 'The Binge Eater' was a male, while others said he wasn't even a Ghoul.

But even after a few of these rumors reached Kage, that a woman similar to him was roaming The Eleventh Ward, he didn't believe it was his mother. Never being the kind of person to like rumors, he just shrugged them off and continued with his day.

He didn't even know if his mother was alive. While he also wanted to search for his father, Yoshimura prevented him from looking around at all.

It infuriated Kage to no end.

Hearing the sound of footsteps descending the stairs and approaching him, Kage's lifted his gaze. He saw Touka wearing similar clothes to yesterday.

Without a word in between the two, Kage began to walk ahead of Touka who followed him closely.

_**Timeskip**_

Cutting their way through a few alleys, Kage and Touka was currently a few minutes away from the place called 'HySy ArtMask Studio' where they would be able to have their masks made. Kage explained that the store was run by a fellow Ghoul named Uta. He also mentioned that he would ask a lot of questions and that she should answer as many as possible.

Still walking along the street, light reflected off of Kage's right hand when the sun hit it at the right angle. More specifically, his ring finger.

At first, it annoyed Touka, but her curiosity grew more and more as they traveled further away from the shop.

"Hey, Kage."

"Hmm?"

"Why are you wearing a ring?"

"No reason."

Feeling Touka's glare as it bore into his head, Kage knew there wasn't an easy way out of this. Even though stronger than Touka, he knew that she would annoy him until she got her answer. It wouldn't be her first time doing it. Sighing, but keeping his eyes on their road ahead, Kage knew it was best to answer the younger girl truthfully.

"I presume that Yoshimura already told you that he found me abandoned when I was a baby."

Touka's nod being her sign for him to continue his story, a weird feeling erupted in his chest. He hadn't told this to anyone outside of Anteiku but he knew that it would pique Touka's interest at some point.

"From what Yoshimura told me when he found me I was wrapped up in a blanket. Inside was this ring and a note saying my name and birthday. While the story isn't much, it means a lot to me."

Getting a better look at the ring, Touka saw it was white with kanji for love written in black on the top of it.

Understanding that this may be a sensitive topic to Kage, Touka prevented herself from asking any questions and continued her walk with Kage.

Not long after, they reached a shop with a glowing neon sign above it that said 'HySy ArtMask Studio'. Coming in without knocking, Touka looked around at all the masks that covered the walls and the heads carrying them as well.

Walking around with no sign of the owner, Touka pulled on a white cloth that she thought covered another mask. But after fully taking it off, her blue eyes widened at the sight of a lanky man with black hair styled into an undercut. Tattoos covered his arms and neck, with a glimpse of a sun tattoo on his left pectoral region. His kakugan seemed active as he stared at the teenage girl.

"Boo."

Kage soon appeared behind the weird man, placing a hand on his shoulder. His eyes were closed as a small smile adorned his face.

"You're not gonna catch her with that, Uta. She's cold-blooded. Her name's Touka by the way."

In silence, the man now named Uta stood up and walked around Touka bit.

"Very well then, Kage-Kun. I suppose you're both here to have me make your masks. If you are then please take a seat over there."

Kage sat first, seemingly impatient. After a short while, Uta finally returned with a measuring tape in his hands and began to take measurements of Kage's head while asking a few questions.

"So, Kage-Kun, any news about your mother or father?"

"Nothing yet. You know how it is with Yoshimura. He's probably not gonna allow me to look for them until I'm stronger than the One-Eyed King."

"That's rather ... ambitious. And I suppose you're not gonna listen to him and will try and find her anyway."

"Oh, you know me so well Uta."

"You realize that he's doing this for your safety, right?"

"I know that, but I feel like he's underestimating my power. He still looks at me like the baby he found in the alley sixteen years ago."

Finished up with taking Kage's measurements, Uta grabbed a nearby paper and wrote a few things down. Seeing Uta finished, Kage stood up and pointed his thumb at Touka to sit down in the chair.

A few more minutes passed as Kage began to feel himself get bored. The process was longer with Touka as Uta had already met Kage on a few occasions. He was already familiar with Kage's story and didn't have too many questions to ask him, rather just take his measurements.

Feeling that this was gonna last longer than he expected, Kage pushed himself off the wall that he was leaning against.

"Hey Touka, you know you're way back to Anteiku, right?"

Receiving a slightly stiff nod from the black-haired girl, her movements restricted by the measuring tape Uta used. Walking to the entrance, Kage's gaze went towards Touka once more.

"I got some things to take care of. As soon as you're finished make you're way back to Anteiku. I don't want Jiji breathing down my neck for bringing you with me while ... blowing off some steam."

Finally exiting the store, Kage let his gaze scan the streets of Tokyo. The anger from the earlier argument with Yoshiumra still bubbled inside him, which he managed to hide well. The kakugan in his right eye appeared with his iris turning red and the sclera blackened. A large number of red veins appeared around his eye. Not caring if anyone saw him, Kage jumped onto a building using his Ghoul strength and began to run across it, looking for his next meal.

_**Timeskip**_

After a lot of measurements were taken and a lot of questions were answered, Touka finally exited the store. Breathing in the fresh air, Touka started her walk to Anteiku.

Remembering the path that Kage used to get to the store, Touka navigated through a few alleys and streets.

Walking through a barely lit alley, Touka began to hear snickering behind her. Not wanting to fight anyone, she sped up her pace and was soon to get out of the alley, when a person landed in front of her.

Some of the lights present managed to show some of the man's appearance. In front of Touka was a tall, attractive young man with a soft look on his face, wearing a European attire. Purple hair covered his head with a long fringe neatly swept towards the left.

The man took a few sniffs of the air around as his gaze dropped to the teenager in front of him.

"What's this ... this intoxicating smell. It appears to be your Mignonne. But it's not only yours ... no, it's quite familiar. It's that of my lovely friend, Kage-Kun. You wouldn't happen to know where he is, no?"

The shock still present inside Touka led her to not know how to answer the man. She had never seen this man but he seemed powerful. The confidence he showed seemed different. Almost fake.

Seeing the young girl not talking, a frown crept upon the man's face.

Not having enough time to react, Touka felt the man's kick hit her full force as she was sent back. She rolled for a few feet before finally coming to a stop. Realizing that she wouldn't be able to get away without a fight, she activated her kakugan and released a wing-like structure from her shoulder are, showing herself to be a Ukaku.

She ran as fast as she could at her opponent, hoping to overwhelm him with speed.

_**Timeskip**_

Crystalizing her Kagune, Touka fired off another barrage of spike-like projectiles at her opponent. The man, obviously exhausted, jumped over the spikes, landing on the ground softly.

The two panted, staring at each other in the eyes. Both were wary of what the other one was going to do. While the battle was evenly matched so far, any sort of slip up could result in death.

Being an Ukaku, Touka's stamina wasn't as large as that of the man ahead of her who revealed himself to be a Koukaku.

The Koukaku was wrapped around the man's arm with a pointed edge on the end. But while he did have more stamina, the Koukaku was quite heavy which allowed Touka to get a few good shots in.

Overall, because of their equal power, the winner wasn't known.

Using the last of his strength, the man took another, rather fast, charge at Touka. Getting ready to dodge, Touka felt that her stamina was completely depleted. Simply watching as the man came closer and closer.

She felt as if it was the end. It seemed like her life was gonna end without her doing anything significant. Like she was gonna be remembered by her brother, not as his older sister, but rather the close relative that he would argue with a lot.

She watched the man come closer, ready to stab her.

But he was blown back, farther than he was standing previously. He rolled a few feet before stabilizing himself. The wind was knocked out of him and blood gushed out of his mouth.

Looking up, Touka saw the familiar figure of Kage. While she couldn't see his face, she saw that the strand of hair that covered the left side of his face had quite a bit of blood on it. But her gaze shifted to her opponent as he stood up once more, heavily coughing.

"Oh, Kage-Kun ... you haven't changed at all ... I think you may be even stronger."

Kage dropped down his right leg which he used to kick the man away before harming Touka. The stern look on his face only made the other man smirk.

"I'll only say this once, Shuu, leave before I get an appetite and devour you while you're still alive."

The mysterious purple-haired man only coughed more and began to make his way out of the alley, all the while snickering. Kage watched on a bit longer, waiting until the man left.

Touka only looked up at the one year older male. He just dropped in out of nowhere and handled a man that Touka could only touch, purely because of her speed. She didn't know what type of Kagune he was, but he was both very fast and strong.

Finally turning around to face Touka, she felt all those thoughts disappear while looking at his face. His Kakugan still active gave him an even more sinister appearance. But most of it was caused by the blood that covered his mouth and a large area around it. The was even blood on the bangs covering the sides of his face. The red, long-sleeved shirt Kage was wearing was also covered in blood, giving it a more crimson color.

Noticing the younger girl ahead of him was afraid to speak but also noticing her exhaustion, Kage picked her up bridal style before she could protest. Normally, any girl would blush in this kind of situation, but it was difficult for Touka. The blood on his shirt was still warm and wet and some of it even got onto her as he placed her body against his.

The blood on his mouth also didn't help.

In silence, Kage began his journey back to Anteiku, running across buildings.

_**Timeskip**_

Finally reaching Anteiku with a still exhausted Touka in his arms, Kage chose to enter Touka's room through her window. Jumping up high enough thanks to his Ghoul strength, he entered her room. Making his way towards her bedroom, as if he knew the place, he saw a sleeping Ayato on the couch with the TV still turned on.

Carrying a half-asleep Touka in his arms, Kage entered her bedroom. Looking around, he saw the room was quite the opposite of her personality. A few large stuffed animals sat on her bed with a pink cover on it as well. A few papers with kanji written on them also hanged on the walls.

Placing Touka down on her bed and covering her, he saw that her face gained a small look of discomfort. A few thoughts grabbed onto his mind of Touka being cute while sleeping were pushed back as he grabbed another blanket while exiting her room and closing the door.

He went towards Ayato and covered him as well before turning off the TV. Exiting their apartment, he walked a few doors down and began unlocking his own. But before he could step in, he felt the same hand from earlier that day fall upon his shoulder again. Turning his head to the right, Kakugan still active, he looked at Yoshimura.

"I presume everything went fine?"

"I went hunting and Touka encountered Shuu on her way back. I saved her and scared off Shuu. As for Touka, she's fine, just needs a little rest."

Nodding his head, Yoshimura allowed the young waiter to enter his apartment. Looking around, he noticed his baren apartment, while similar in structure, was very much different from Touka's. A TV that was rarely on, along with a bedroom that had a cover over a bed with a desk off to the side.

Even the kitchen was empty except for the coffee that was prepared to be made.

'I should get changed, I need to help out Enji and Irimi.'

Letting the water boil, Kage made his way towards his room where he quickly changed into his waiter's uniform. Making his way towards his bathroom, he washed his face and the two bangs covering the sides of his head.

Entering the kitchen once more, Kage mixed the coffee with the boiling water before putting in one of the 'special' sugar cubes. Blowing a few breaths at it to cool it down, he soon began to drink it while thinking over the events of the day.

He was going to get his mask. Something that he didn't need so far as he always covered his trail after a hunt and besides, the number of Doves in the Twentieth Ward was the lowest in Tokyo. Not a lot of Ghouls here actually covered their faces.

Finishing the drink, Kage tied the same red, low-top Converse sneakers he wore during the day and started making his way towards the Cafe.

Entering the Cafe through the backroom he saw that it was very crowded, despite the night still being very young. A sigh escaped his lips and he made his way towards Enji and Irima, both of which were quickly making coffee for the customers.

Grabbing a tray, without a word, the duo started to place the drinks onto the tray, telling him which coffee went to which table. Smiling his fake charismatic smile once more, he started to deliver the drinks to the tables.

_**Timeskip**_

It was already half-past ten, as most of the people left the Cafe. There were still a few people inside, mostly couples and old friends, still laughing and spending their time in the company.

Kage was currently behind the bar, watching if any new customers were to walk in. Anteiku's closing time was at half-past eleven so there was still time for people to come and have a drink.

Another couple walked out of the Cafe, the bell ringing as they descended the stairs that led towards the streets of Tokyo.

Kage's gaze went down to the watch on his left hand, interested in how much they had until they had to close. His attention was brought back to the door by the sound of a bell ringing.

Expecting to see a couple or a few friends exiting Anteiku, Kage wasn't very interested. But the scent that came with the opening of the door forced Kage to look up quickly.

But seeing what was a few feet in front of him made all of his senses dull except his vision, which seemed to focus on the most beautiful girl Kage had ever seen.

The very attractive woman wore a curious expression as her beautiful green toned eyes analyzed the inside of Anteiku. Her hair bundled on the top of her head in a messy bun only seemed to make her appearance even more beautiful. Her body was covered by a blue dress with a yellow sweater underneath it.

Her beautiful green eyes seemed like they found what they were looking for as she made her way towards one of the tables in the back, near a window. Sitting down she placed her head on her left hand and began looking out the window into the streets of Tokyo.

Enji was about to grab the tray and walk over to the new customer when the tray was quickly taken by Kage right in front of him. Lightly cleaning off his outfit, he saw the amused look that Enji was giving.

"Well, would you look at that. The Young Sadist wanting to take a customer's order. We usually have to force you to do that."

"Shut up."

Finally walking away from the bar, Kage began making his way towards the green-haired beauty. Every step he took seemed to make his heart beat faster. Taking a deep breath in and out, he put on the most charming smile he could. Finally coming closer to the lady, he saw that she was even more beautiful than from a distance. Her look into the streets of Tokyo was moved to the young waiter standing in front of her by him clearing his throat.

"Konbanwa, may I take your order?"

Unbeknownst to Kage the green-haired beauty quickly sniffed the air once more smiling back at him. Kage could swear his heart was about beat out of his chest. Her smile was the prettiest he had ever seen, and he saw a lot of them from the female customers.

"You don't seem too busy tonight. How about you get me an iced coffee, get yourself something you want, and we can sit down and chat."

A smirk found its way on Kage's face. Most of the women would just shyly order while others would even forget the reason they were here for as soon as they saw his smile.

Meanwhile, the beauty in front of him flirted with him, something nobody else did so far.

Reverting to his charming smile, he made his way back towards the bar, being meet with Enji and Irima. They were both prepared to make the young woman's order.

"So, what does she want Kage?"

Flashing another smile to the duo in front of him, he simply walked past them and began preparing the coffee himself.

"Don't worry about it, I'll take care of it."

A few more minutes passed by as Kage made his favorite drink. Being Kage's favorite, he naturally became very good at making it. It became a sort of a special at Anteiku if Kage made anyone iced coffee. Hell, it was a specialty if Kage made anyone coffee.

Putting his all into making the best-iced coffee ever made, a few drops of sweat dripped from his forehead. Finally finishing hers he made a very quick one for himself as he mostly cared about what she thought. Finishing up his as well, Kage stopped dead in his tracks.

Since when did he care about what people, especially girls, thought about him and his coffee?

Something was going on with this girl and he needed to know what.

Picking up the two iced coffees, Kage walked past the tray and made his way directly towards the young girl. She flashed him a smile as he placed the coffee in front of her and sat on the chair opposite hers.

Both took a glance at each other's eyes, purple eyes looking at green ones.

The mysterious woman sucked on the straw and began to taste the iced coffee. The flavors mixed in her mouth as she let out a small satisfied moan and kept sipping the drink. Soon, half of the coffee was already finished, as Kage was just starting to drink his own.

Noticing the waiter not drinking too much she raised an eyebrow and looked curiously at him.

"You don't seem to be enjoying the coffee."

"I am. It's just that when you can make one of these whenever you want they don't seem that special to you."

The look on the woman's face showed a slight surprise.

"So you made these?"

"Yeah, I did. After all, I'm the best-iced coffee maker around."

The green-haired beauty giggled at the moniker and her eyes gained a dreamy look as she looked once more at the waiter across from her.

"Well I have to admit, this is probably the best-iced coffee I ever had. I might just have to start coming here more, and not just for the coffee."

"I really wouldn't have anything against that."

"Well, I guess we should also introduce ourselves. My name is Sen Takatsuki."

Preventing the surprise from showing up on his face, he made his smile grow larger. He was flirting with his favorite author after making her iced coffee. This day started to turn for the better.

"Well, it's very nice to meet you Takatsuki-San. I'm a big fan."

"Oh please don't be so formal, just Sen is fine. But I don't think I caught your name."

"Oh, sorry. My name is Kage."

"So no last name huh?"

"Certain ... events led to that being the case."

Kage's gaze dropped into his lap. It was a topic he was sensitive to talking about even around those he grew up with. It just made him uneasy and it wasn't any easier after the first time telling it.

But his gaze was lifted back to the table by a feeling of warmth encompassing his right hand. He saw Sen's smaller hands holding his right, gently, as if to not hurt him. His gaze travelling up to her eyes, he saw worry mixed with a tinge of curiosity. A sadder smile now present on her lips.

"Hey now, don't worry about it. You can tell me anything."

And so, Kage spilled every detail he knew about his life to the writer. He left out the Ghoul parts, as he wasn't sure about her being a Ghoul. The smell was present when around her but it was also mixed with that of a Human.

Not thinking much of it, Kage poured his heart out, even a few sensitive details he wouldn't usually tell. He reasoned that it was time to finally man up and get over the fact he was left alone as a baby, but a thought in the back of his head said otherwise. As he would soon find out, he wasn't the only one with that kind of a story.

"Huh, who would know. I guess we're similar in more ways than one."

Looking curiously at the writer across from him, Kage was thinking about what she could have gone through to say that. She seemed like a completely normal person, well, besides the smell of a Ghoul.

"You see when I was a baby I was abandoned as well, I grew up in an orphanage in the Twenty-fourth Ward. It had its ups and downs, but I managed to get out there and become what I am today. I guess it finished well after all. But it looks like I finally found someone who can say they know what it's like."

Seeing the sad smile drop from her face, being replaced with a small frown, something broke inside of Kage. Wanting to comfort her, knowing what it was like, Kage did the first thought to come to mind.

Bringing up his left hand, Kage enveloped her hands with his. It was just then that he felt how soft her hands were. The feeling of comfort grew inside both of the young people. Kage wanted to hold her hands like that for as long as it took, preferably forever.

Looking up from their hands, Sen saw the closed-eye smile he was giving her. While her past didn't affect her too much, it still struck a nerve inside her. And meeting someone with a past so similar enveloped her in a case of sadness.

Yet looking at that closed-eye smile, Sen felt a warmth inside her. One she wasn't used to, as she never felt it before. It felt as if someone covered her with a warm blanket on a cold winter night, only better. As the feeling rose through her body, she didn't know how to react.

The situation wasn't any better on Kage's side either. Truly, he didn't know why he did what he did. He felt that it was only right he similarly comforts her as she did to him. It was what he wanted someone to do to him when telling about his past. Yet everyone would just look at him sadly for a few moments after which they would continue with their day.

Smiling similarly to the boy across from her, Sen felt that maybe she truly found what she was looking for. At first, it was a powerful foe, whos scent she followed to the Cafe and was met with the boy. But now, it felt different. A good kind of different.

Looking at the watch Kage had on his left wrist, Sen saw it was already 11:10. She noticed the slightly sad look on the male's face and flashed him another smile, this one happier than the other ones.

Pulling out a pen from her pocket she scribbled a number on Kage's left hand. Looking back up at him, she saw his confused look.

"I'll come back tomorrow, but if you need something or someone to talk to, just call me okay."

Receiving a small nod from the still shocked Kage, she leaned over to him and kissed him on the cheek. Holding onto the kiss a bit longer than usual, Sen felt his taste was different from any other Ghoul. But his smell was different as well.

Separating from the kiss, she stood up and flashed another beautiful smile at Kage. She began to walk past him.

"See you tomorrow Kage-Kun!"

While still shocked, Kage managed to bring himself back to reality.

"S-See you tomorrow Sen-Chan!"

After Sen exited the coffee shop, which was signaled by the bell above the door, Kage sighed, all the shock leaving him. Looking down at his left hand and the number written on it, a smile adorned his face as he began to help with cleaning the cafe and closing up.

_**Timeskip, with Sen**_

As the moon shined brightly in the sky, Sen stared at the empty page on her laptop. It was as if a single thought couldn't leave her mind and be placed on paper.

And it was all because of that waiter.

Sighing she picked up her notepad that held her ideas for a book along with a pen and walked over to her bed. Laying down on her back, she scribbled a few things down, crossing them later on.

And like that, her night continued. Idea after idea scribbled onto the paper, only to be rejected later. But the worst part was, Sen was already working on a book. She was about halfway finished with it when new ideas seemed to hit her about another book.

And they all seemed to come because of her meeting with the waiter named Kage at the cafe.

Everything from his past to the way he looked at it and his warm smile that comforted her, they all seemed to go down on paper, Sen seemingly writing character ideas.

Sen had her moments as a genius when it came to writing, you only need to look at her books and their sales to see that. But, it felt as if she knew the characters she was writing about currently.

Sen flipped the pen around her fingers. The characters seemed familiar. Their personalities, ways of speaking, even their looks reminded her of someone. She felt she knew them

Almost as if she already met them.

_**With Kage**_

In an apartment directly above Anteiku, the sixteen year old sat on his bed with his back against the wall. On the pillow to his right, a sketchbook whos pages seemed to be mostly filled was open with a mechanical pencil next to it.

The open page showed a sketch of the girl he met earlier. The sketch showed her with a smile and a dreamy look in her eyes. Her hair still in a bun with her head leaning on her right hand.

Picking up the pencil and sketchbook, Kage began to add his finishing details. It was just something about her that made Kage feel inspired. So inspired that her image seemed to be engraved in his mind.

Flipping a few pages back he saw about five previous pages had similar designs to the page he was currently working on. Every single one of them showed Sen in a similar position, with a smile on her face. They varied by little and seemed like copies of the previous one.

Sighing, he layed down on his back and dropped the sketchbook next to his bed.

He flipped the pencil around his fingers while the sleep avoided him. The pencil flipping became a bit of a habit while waiting for a customer to order. After that, he usually had something with him, preferably his pencil, that he could flip around his fingers.

His purple hair wasn't in a low ponytail anymore, rather laid sprawled out under him. Still flipping the pencil, he felt as if though sleep was uncatchable. Though he still felt tired from hunting during the day, he knew sleep would catch up to him eventually.

He just didn't know when.

**That was all for this chapter. Thank you very much for reading, please follow, favorite, and comment on what you think. I'll see you all in the next chapter! Ja Ne!**


	4. The Girl and The Truth

Carrying his recently awoken body, Kage was dragging himself across the floor above the Anteiku Coffee Shop. The seven a.m walk was caused by the manager, or better known to Kage as Jiji, having Enma call the young man to his office. Knowing that he didn't have the morning shift today, thoughts traveled across the young waiter's mind as to what Yoshimura wanted.

Feeling the two hours of sleep he barely got get to him, Kage's only wish was to go back to bed. It was one of the days where he wanted to ignore the old man and do what he wanted.

Now that he thought about it, those kinds of days seemed to appear more and more. Tired of the work and agitated by the old man, Kage almost wished to disappear. His only wish was to look for his mother and father, something that the old man didn't allow.

But Anteiku was a family, and every family had its ups and downs. Yet it seemed like only the downs seemed to show themselves inside his head. His mind wanting a distraction, it wandered to the scent of the green-haired beauty he met the previous day.

Unique enough to be remembered, it was one of the things keeping the waiter awake during the night. Questions as to what it meant along with why she had it kept popping up in the head of the young man.

But her scent alone wasn't what kept the waiter awake. No, it was rather her green eyes that seemed hurt yet happy. Remembering back to them once more, Kage felt as if she was looking at him again. He remembered the sad look she displayed when remembering her past. But the relieved look she had when he grabbed her soft, small hands popped up as well.

Then there was her smile, that beautiful, relaxing and comforting smile. It seemed to force out all the worries present in Kage's head and then suppress them. And even though she wasn't present with Kage, the simple thought that he could see it once more managed to remove all the stress and strain in his mind.

Then, also as if his brain wanted to tease him, it went back to her soft lips. More specifically, the soft kiss placed on his left cheek when she began making her out of the coffee shop. Feeling the heat that rises up to his cheeks, Kage brought his hand up and touched the same spot her lips did last night.

It was almost as if he could feel her lips once more. Yet the mind of the waiter thought the kiss to be too good. Knowing you usually don't kiss the cheek of the stranger you just met, Kage felt there was something more behind the kiss. Almost as if to assure him that she will see him once more.

But as thoughts and memories frantically ran around his head, he realized he reached the door of the person that was waiting for him inside. Staring at the wooden door, his mind started to go into overdrive. Kage ran every scenario in his mind of what could happen when he enters the door, yet he knew it had to happen.

Taking in a deep breath, he mustered up the strength to turn the handle and push the door open. While not here often, he was familiar with the layout of the office. Two couches across from each other with a table in between them. Two leather chairs were present on the sides of the table and a bookshelf was on the right wall of the room.

Finally, Kage saw Yoshimura with his back turned to him, looking out the window whos blinds were half-open. The older man seemed deep in thought, not noticing the entrance of the young waiter. His eyes watched the kids in the playground playing tag, their laughs reaching the man because of his Ghoul senses.

"Enji said you asked for me."

Breaking the man's distant look on the outside world, Kage saw Yoshimura's hands twitch a little before turning around to face the young man. The light that shined through the semi-closed blinds gave the waiter a chance to see the Kakugan of the man that raised him.

While not the first time seeing it, as it was seen by Kage quite a few times during his training sessions with the older man, it still seemed out of place on the man's face. Over the years Kage began to realize that it was in the nature of Ghouls to hunt and be savages. The battles that Kage had with other Ghouls were what gave Kage that perception of the Ghoul world.

Yet, seeing these same eyes on the man who wanted nothing more but to coexist with the humans around him, it almost seemed weird. Different would probably be a better word if it weren't for the fact that Kage saw Yoshimura in battle a few times and, to an extent, knew what he was capable of. Yet watching the man suppress that power day by day seemed odd.

Kage was aware the man could rule over more than just the Twentieth Ward but chose not to. Why he did so was beyond Kage. But all of these were questions for another day.

"I wanted to talk to you. Seeing as you have worked hard recently, I decided to you a day off."

While it wasn't the first time that Yoshimura had done so, it had been a little bit over a year since the last day off.

"Arigatou."

Turning his back to the older man, Kage was eager to leave the office. In the split second, he had already known what he wanted to do for the day. Something rather odd for the reputation he built up.

"Under one condition."

At the moment, Kage had forgotten Yoshimura's nature. It wasn't often that Kage was given a day off or any sort of relaxation. And it has never happened that Yoshimura didn't have a condition under which Kage could take the day off.

"You can't go on a feeding frenzy like your last day off. Your behavior attracted the attention of a few Doves when a few Ghouls disappeared."

While not glad he did such a thing, Yoshimura knew it was for the best of both the Twentieth Ward and for Kage. He always had a larger appetite than the average Ghoul and on some occasions, Yoshimura was forced to beat it out of him.

It wouldn't be the first time he had gone insane after eating a Ghoul too many, so Yoshimura opted to give him more time to work in the Caffe. It was a way of limiting his eating habits.

After all, it was for his own safety. Growing attached to the child, Yoshimura did everything he could to protect him. He knew if Kage went out of control the CCG could potentially kill him.

But after seeing Kage exhaust himself while working, Yoshimura felt that maybe it was time to give him another day off. He wasn't a robot and deserved a break beside the half-hour one given to all the employes for eating.

Receiving a solemn nod as the answer, Yoshimura watched the waiter leave his office. Yet, as Kage left the office, a familiar scent left the office with him. One that Yoshimura hadn't noticed until now.

Pushing the thought aside, Yoshimura knew that there were things to be taken care of.

In the hallway, the hurried steps of a person walking were heard. Feeling more energized than ever, Kage walked hurriedly back to his room. The smile on his face everpresent with his teeth showing. It almost seemed like his eyes were glistening.

Feeling as if he was gliding, he was a lot quicker to his room back from his office than the other way around earlier that morning.

Quickly opening the door and making his way towards his bedroom, Kage jumped on his back and pumped his fists in the air. It seemed like things were finally going his way.

Still giddy with a tinge of nervousness creeping in because of what he was about to do, he grabbed his phone which was charging near his bed and opened the dial.

Looking at his left hand, he triple-checked the number he typed and finally pressed call.

In the middle of waiting for the green-haired beauty to pick up, he realized he was calling at seven-thirty in the morning. More nervousness washed over him as he had realized what he had done and was about to hang up, ready to call again later, when the sleepy yet beautiful voice on the other end answered.

"Hello?"

"H-Hi, Sen-Chan, it's me, Kage."

Finishing up his response, Kage heard the sound of things shuffling and Sen clearing her voice until she finally picked up the phone once more.

"H-Hey Kage-Kun, what's up?"

"S-Sorry for waking you up so early. My manager just told me I have the day off, s-so I was wondering i-if you wanted t-to you know ... go out with me?"

Silence filled the phone line, as not even breathing was heard from the two. Already feeling rejected, Kage prepared himself to hear the words be spoken. But alas, he hadn't expected what he truly heard.

Giggling interrupted his train of thought. That soft, angelic voice giggling almost seemed heavenly. Better than any song he had listened, Kage, wanted it to continue forever. He wanted to listen to it again and again.

But it was also that same voice that brought him back to reality, brought him back to the difference between themselves and made him question her interest in him. What would an Angel want with a Ghoul?

"I would love to, my dear Kage-Kun. How about we meet up in the park near Kamii University at nine?"

"I would love that. See you later!"

"Bye!"

Placing his phone beside him on the pillow, a snicker echoed around his room. A moment later another snicker was heard and Kage began to laugh fully. Jumping onto his bed he began jumping up and down, all the while the smile was still present on his face.

A few minutes later, he finally calmed himself and sat down once more. Looking at his phone he saw it was quarter to eight, leaving him with enough time to get ready. Grabbing a new pair of clothes he made his way over to the bathroom to take a shower.

_**Short Timeskip**_

Descending the steps that connected Anteiku with the rest of Tokyo and The Twentieth Ward, Kage wore a happy smile on his face as his eyes still glistened like when Sen agreed to the idea of the date.

His torso covered by a sleeveless red hoodie, along with pants that were similar to harem pants only less loose. Two strings were also present on the front. And to finish up his look, his red, low-top, Converse sneaker covering the short white socks.

Finally making his way onto the streets, Kage immediately began a walk towards a nearby alley. Wanting to be on his designated date location as quickly as possible, he decided to change his way of travel.

Jumping up on a building that made up the alley, he began to tun across buildings. Still energized after the cold shower, Kage felt as if he could run the entire day.

A few minutes away from his destination, his cheeriness and running were both stopped when a girl's scream came from nearby. Knowing he promised Yoshimura he wouldn't go on a feeding frenzy, he decided to at least check out what was going on. And so changing his course Kage began making his way to where he heard the screams coming from.

A few buildings later, Kage finally found the site he was looking for which made his blood boil. The Kakugan in his right eye glowed menacingly as more and more red veins began to appear around his eye.

In an alley below, five guys cornered a girl about eleven-years-old. But what truly made Kage want to massacre them was that one of them was holding the girl up against the wall by her throat, licking her cheek. She wore a yellow summer dress that reached her knees, with her black hair falling to her lower back with a few strands covering her face.

But even with the hair covering her eyes, Kage saw the little girl's Kakugan along with the tears that streamed down her face. The sandals she was wearing were on the ground under her.

The man licked the salty tears falling down her cheek and grinned at the little girl. His Kakugan lustfully looking at her.

"I guess we could have some fun with you before we eat you."

Having seen enough, Kage jumped from his spot on the top of the building.

Landing in the middle of the small group, a small crater was created under his weight and before anyone could react, Kage thrust his hand forward. The hand went through the Ghoul's chest with ease, holding his heart on the other side. Squeezing it, the blood exploded and covered the little girl along with the man holding her.

Feeling his life and strength leave him, the Ghoul dropped the little girl that watched terrified as the man fell in front of her.

Not giving the others a chance to react, Kage lifted his right leg and kicked the man on his right into the wall, denting it, with blood pouring out of his mouth. Using the shock still present in those around, he pivoted on his left leg and, using most of his power, kicked the head off the shoulder of the Ghoul to his left.

Finally coming to their senses, the two remaining Ghouls charged at Kage, hoping to overwhelm him with numbers. Coming close to him, they both pulled their fist back and tried to punch the mysterious savior.

Seeing their fists coming, Kage calmly ducked under the punches and grabbed each Ghoul by their neck. Lifting them up, he saw the panic in their eyes as they repeatedly hit his arms.

"Scum like you makes me want to vomit. Now Perish!"

Finishing his sentence, Kage began to strongly squeeze their throats until they eventually popped, showering Kage with blood. The bodies of the Ghouls dropped on the floor with what was left of their head rolling a few feet away.

Turning back, Kage finally managed to get a look at the girl he just saved. Her skin was very pale and she looked like she hadn't eaten in a month now. Hunger was something even adult Ghouls had trouble containing, so something like this happening to a little girl made Kage even angrier.

The little girl, seeing Kage covered in blood with only his right eye having a Kakugan, covered in fear and almost tried to go through the wall behind her.

Taking a step towards her, Kage saw that her fear only increased.

"Hey, don't worry. Nobody's gonna harm you as long as I'm around."

The words seemed to calm the little girl down a bit and allowed Kage to slowly approach her. When he finally reached her, he kicked away the body of the man lying in front of her and sat down in a Seiza position.

The girl, although calmed by his earlier words, was still afraid. Kage reached for something besides her, which made the girl flinch and close her eyes. Soon, she felt something touching her naked feet.

She opened her eyes and saw her savior putting her sandals onto her feet. Finished up, Kage looked her in the eyes and flashed her his iconic close-eye smile.

Even though just watching the Ghoul brutally murder five other Ghouls, his smile seemed to make the little girl warmer inside and a few more tears to drop from her eyes.

Reaching him as quickly as possible, she placed her head on his chest and hugged him around the waist tightly. Kage felt his hoodie getting wet and realized she was crying. Hugging her back, he placed his chin on her head.

Seeing the girl has calmed down after a few minutes, Kage grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her a bit away from him. Seeing the strands of hair covering her puffy red eyes, he reached for his own low ponytail and took off the purple hairband holding it in place and held it with his teeth.

Wiping away the strands that obstructed her vision, he took the rubber band from his mouth and tied her hair in a low ponytail like the one he previously wore. He picked her up and sat up against the wall she was sitting against earlier. The little girl laid on his chest and dropped a few more tears and soon fell asleep.

Kage wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head and decided to let her sleep.

_**Timeskip**_

Sen was currently walking along the streets near the park she was supposed to meet up with Kage. At first, she thought he was gonna be a bit late but an hour later he didn't show up at all.

It didn't seem like him.

While she only managed to talk to him for half an hour the previous night he seemed honest and caring, so when he didn't show up Sen got very worried.

Currently on her way to Anteiku to check on the waiter she was stopped when her nose picked up a familiar scent. It was the smell of Kage along with that of blood and one she didn't recognize.

Fearing that someone attacked him, she started to run as fast as she could towards the alley where the scent was coming from. Coming closer and closer, the scent was sharper and felt more recognizable.

Her nose led her to a nearby alley where, when she entered was met with an unexpected sight.

Everything covered in blood as bodies of five Ghouls lay scattered across the alley. Three were missing heads, one layed in front of an indented wall, while the final one had a hand-sized hole in his chest.

But what was most surprising was the body of the waiter she met last night was sitting against a wall with his hair moving in the wind, not in his recognizable ponytail.

In his lap was an eight-year-old girl hugging his waist with her hair tied up in low ponytail similar to the one Kage had. She seemed peaceful while she was sleeping but her eyes were puffy.

It seemed like Kage didn't notice Sen entering the alley as he had yet to look at her, his look on the girl in his lap that he tightly hugged.

"Kage..."

Sen's silent voice seemed to reach Kage's ears as his eyes widened and his grip on the little girl got tighter. Slowly lifting up his gaze, he saw Sen looking at him, not with a look of shock, but rather a soft look at him and the little girl sleeping in his lap.

A small confusion appeared in Kage's mind as to why Sen wasn't calling CCG or at least running away, but it was soon pushed back as she flashed him a sad smile and began walking towards him.

Kage wanted to say something, he truly did. Yet it seemed like every word got stuck in his throat and refused to go further.

Stepping her red shoes in the blood on the ground didn't seem to affect Sen at all as she simply continued her walk towards the Ghoul.

Watching Sen sit down in front of the two in the Seiza position, the same way Kage sat down in front of the girl earlier, words finally managed to escape Kage's throat and be spoken.

"W-Why..."

The smile on Sen's face grew larger and her eyes flickered with happiness.

She could finally tell him who she was.

"What? Report you to the CCG? How could a Ghoul report a fellow Ghoul?"

The question seemed to linger in the air for a moment until it finally struck Kage as to what she meant.

The iris of her green eye became red with her sclera becoming black with red veins appearing around her eye.

As much as Kage wanted to be shocked he couldn't. He was rather stunned. Sen's right eye looked so beautiful that his mind went blank. He finally realized why she had Ghoul scent.

Pushing himself off the wall he was previously leaning against, his previously normal right eye turned into a Kakugan.

The smile never left Sen's face as she brought her right hand and caressed Kage's left cheek. A few tears dropped from them both as they only stared at one another.

A few more moments passed until Sen reached over and hugged Kage, hugging the little girl in the process as well.

They both stayed like that until Sen stood up and offered a hand to Kage.

"I live nearby, c'mon, we need to get that girl cleaned up."

Grabbing Sen's hand, Kage stood up as well with the little girl still in his arms. Readjusting her so she was more comfortable to carry, he began to follow Sen wherever she was leading him.

_**Timeskip**_

Walking into Sen's house, Kage only slipped off his Converse sneakers and followed Sen into the living room where she told him to place the little girl onto the couch.

After that, she pointed him to a bathroom where he could take a shower to wash off the blood.

Turning on the cold water, Kage's thoughts frantically moved as he remembered the day's events. Feeling the dirt and blood wash off, he started to wonder what would happen to the little girl. He didn't even know her name.

Washing all the blood out of his hair that reached his waist was probably the hardest, but something that Kage grew accustomed to. It wasn't the first time he had to do so after all.

Before he expected it, Kage was finished up. But looking at his clothes, Kage knew he couldn't wear them unless he wanted to scare the little girl once more.

His pants had a few traces of blood so they were fine to wear, but his hoodie was covered in the red liquid. Placing the hoodie into the washing bin, he planned to ask Sen if she had a spare shirt he could borrow. He didn't plan going back to Anteiku half-naked.

Exiting the bathroom, Kage heard two familiar voices talking. Nearing the living, where he left Sen and the little girl, he saw the little girl sitting on the table with Sen sitting in a Seize position in front of her.

Seeing her savior show up, the little girl ran up to him and hugged his right leg. Kage looked up to Sen to see her smiling with her eyes still on the little girl.

Seeing the cute scene would normally cause the smile on Sen's face if it weren't for the fact that Kage was half-nake. Instead, a blush crept up to her cheeks.

The little girl lifted her head up and flashed a large smile to Kage who smiles back at her his closed-eye smile. Releasing Kage's leg, the little girl ran over to Sen and pointed at Kage.

"Otou-San!"

Silence filled the room as the two looked questioningly at the little girl. Slowly blinking a few times, trying to process what the little girl said, Kage, looked at Sen as if asking for help.

The only response he received was a giggle from the green haired-beauty that then crouched to the little girl's position.

"And why do you think he's your Otou-San, Kaguya-Chan?"

The little girl looked back at Kage once more before smiling at Sen.

"I-I heard that an Otou-San and Okaa-San are those that care about you."

Smiling at her response, Kage walked over and ruffled the little girl's hair. She smiled up at him once more. However, just like earlier, she pointed at Sen.

"Okaa-San!"

The two teenagers blushed brightly at the little girl's words, all the while she was smiling. Wanting to talk privately with Kage, Sen smiled at the little girl once more.

"Kaguya-Chan, why don't you go and wash up while me and your Otou-San talk."

The little girl nodded quickly and ran off towards the bathroom. Sen looked back at the taller male and sat down on the couch. Kage saw the situation turn serious and sat down on the couch opposite of Sen.

"Kage-Kun, I think we need to clear some things up. I'll start. The little girl you brought here says her name is Kaguya, but that's all she told me. Secondly, my name isn't really Sen Takatsuki. While it is the name under which I publish my books, my real name is Eto Yoshimura. The daughter of your manager. My father left me and ran away when I was a baby. I grew up in the Twenty-Fourth Ward. I'm the leader of the Aogiri Tree, an organization of Ghouls that want to create peace between Ghouls and Humans by first off destroying the CCG and anyone affiliated with it. I'm telling you all of this because I ... I feel I betrayed your trust by lying about myself. I hope you can forgive me."

At first, shocked at all that Se-Eto told him, Kage felt relieved that she could tell him something as sensitive as her past.

Seeing Eto drop her head down to avoid looking at Kage hurt something inside him. It almost made him feel as he was the reason for her pain. Walking over and sitting beside her, something she didn't see as her vision was still on the ground, he grabbed her hands with his which seemed to snap her out of her trance.

Seeing the soft smile he was aiming at her made Eto's thoughts of Kage being mad at her all disappear at once. In fact, he almost seemed happy, happy to get to know Eto.

Seeing his hair falling down his naked back rose another blush up Eto's cheeks. Lifting her hands to the bun on her head, she grabbed the hairband holding the bun on her head in one piece before pulling it and letting her hair drop down her back as well.

Grabbing his hair, except for the two bangs covering the sides of his face, she started to tie his hair in a bun just like hers. Soon, Kage wore a bun similar to Eto's, only smaller.

Hugging Eto around her waist, Kage felt the warmth that radiated off her body. While surprised at first, Eto wrapped her arms around Kage's neck, laying her head in the crook of his neck.

Remaining in that position for a few minutes, Kage pulled away and cupped Eto's left cheek. Green eyes stared into purple as if daring each other to pull the other closer.

Both faces approached the other, feeling the other's warm breaths. And, as if they agreed, they kissed each other's lips at the same time.

Closing their eyes, they let themselves drown in their pleasure. A feeling neither knew they had seeped out of them as their kiss deepened. Licking her lower lip, Kage asked permission to enter. Opening her mouth, Sen fought a battle against Kage using their tounges as weapons.

In the heat of the moment, Eto layed on her back on the couch with Kage hovering over her while still kissing her. Their desires taking over as Eto traced her hands across Kage's chest and stomach.

"Otou-San! Okaa-San!"

Their moment interrupted by the sound of the adorable eight-year-old, covered only by a towel with her hair dripping wet and the purple hairband that Kage gave her still in her hands.

A darker blush than the one from earlier rose once more to their cheeks, not from being seen by the little girl, but rather the names she called them.

Getting up, Kage and Sen looked towards the little girl once more.

"C'mon Kaguya-Chan, let's go dry your hair. And you Kage-Kun, rest up, you deserve it."

Walking over to the little girl, Eto grabbed her hand, giving Kage one more look before she walked away with Kaguya.

Sitting down on the couch, Kage felt the tiredness get to him but refused to fall asleep.

_**Timeskip**_

"C'mon Kaguya-Chan, let's go to bed."

"What about Otou-San? I don't want to go to sleep without him."

Feeling the little girl who was wearing one of Eto's t-shirts, a few sizes too big for her wasn't gonna let up, Eto decided it was best to check on the waiter.

Walking over to the living room, Eto saw the male deep in thought, twirling his right bang in his fingers.

"K-Kage-Kun, c-c' mon, let's go to b-bed."

Snapped out of his previous thoughts, Kage's cheeks heavily blushed. Seeing Eto wasn't joking, he instead stood up and walked over to her.

"W-Where d-did that come from?"

"Kaguya-Chan said she doesn't want to fall asleep without you."

"O-Okay."

Following Sen to the bedroom, he saw Kaguya sitting patiently for her Otou-San and Okaa-San. Upon seeing them walk in, her eyes seemingly glowed.

"Otou-San! Okaa-San!"

By now almost accustomed to the names, Kage and Eto walked over and layed down on opposite sides of the girl. Covering themselves, they looked at each other's eyes for god know which time that day. They reached and hugged each other, hugging the little girl in the process.

Kaguya looked at them both and smiled.

"Goodnight!"

""Goodnight Kaguya-Chan.""

Kage and Eto smiled at each other and placed their foreheads against the other's, forgetting all of their worries and falling asleep.

**As you could have guessed by now, Eto is younger in this story and is Kage's age. Also, Rize is older and I might have to change the age of other characters as time moves on. Thank you so much for reading and please favorite and comment what you think. I'll see you in the next chapter! Ja Ne!**


	5. A New Life

It truly happens to everyone.

The warm feeling emanating from the bed, attracting you to spend the day under the welcoming warm covers.

And while not one to slack off, Kage welcomed the feeling like a nice change of pace. After all, most of his days only consisted of work and hunting Ghouls unwelcome to the Anteiku territory.

Left with little time to rest, the welcoming softness and warmth of the bed seemed to be the only relievers for Kage.

But, this one felt different.

A good kind of different.

Encompassed by the warm covers, a truly great aroma filled Kage's nostrils, leading his eyes to gently open.

The rays of light burst through the windows, the blinding light forcing the waiter to close his eyes once more.

But as he saw the darkness once more, Kage felt a stirring in the bed he resided in.

Lifting a hand to cover his eyes from the light, Kage adjusted his eyes to his surroundings.

Already aware that he fell asleep in Eto's apartment, he wasn't shocked to find himself in an unfamiliar bed. But what did come as a surprise was the small frame closely laying near his torso.

Trailing his gaze down, he saw the girl he saved the prior day, named Kaguya, that seemed to take a liking to him and Eto immediately.

Speaking of the woman that Kaguya called Okaa-San, she wasn't in bed.

She didn't seem to be in the bedroom at all.

Albeit unwillingly, Kage knew that he couldn't waste his day in bed, and began to lift his body off of the very welcoming bed. It was Tuesday after all, meaning that Kage had work to do.

It didn't matter if he was late.

Something that Yoshimura began implementing from when Touka joined, was the waiters switching shifts. If one couldn't make it or was too late, someone else would pick up their work.

Though they would have to work the shift of the waiter that covered for them later.

As slowly and quietly as he could, Kage made his way out of bed. He knew the little girl was probably still shocked by the events from yesterday and didn't want to wake her up.

Plus, she was so adorable when sleeping.

She seemed to catch on that Kage got out of bed but the hold that sleep had on her was too strong for her to wake up.

Seeing his half-naked body, Kage remembered leaving his hoodie in the washing bin due to it being covered in blood.

It didn't matter if one lived in the most or least peacefull Ward, a bloody hoodie is bound to bring unwanted attention.

Wandering what his best course of action was, Kage almost unconsciously began making his way out of the comfortable bedroom.

As if on auto-pilot, Kage's body followed the amazing aroma that seemingly pulled his enhanced Ghoul senses towards the kitchen.

Slowly reaching the source of the great smell, an angelic humming began to reach his ears.

In the humble opinion of the One-Eyed Ghoul, the wonderfull aroma paled in comparison to the voice, his legs making longer strides in hope of reaching the wonderfull voice faster.

Rounding a corner, Kage saw Eto next to the countertop, making coffee

She slowly poured the boiling water in a clock-wise motion and watched the fluid fall into the container underneath.

Not making a sound, Kage made his way towards a chair and sat down, leaning his head on his left hand that layed on the rectangular table.

Eto didn't even seem to notice him if her unstopped working was anything to go by.

As each moment passed, Kage felt that Eto only seemed to become more beautiful. Her angelic voice humming, along with her perfect frame, made her seem as a Goddess in Kage's eyes.

Finished with her work, poured the fluid into the two glasses that were nearby. Lifting them carefully, as to not drop anything, Eto turned around to the dreamy look on Kage's eyes.

Startled, she took a quick step back, dropping a few drops of coffee onto the floor. A light blush adorned her cheeks, seeing the half-naked form of the fellow One-Eyed Ghoul.

Her sight landed on the smile sent her way, which seemed to be contagious. Her lips widened in as she finally began making her way towards the table.

Setting a cup of coffee in front of Kage, Eto took a seat opposite of him, her eyes firmly planted on the cup of the warm fluid in front of her.

A few sips of coffee later, the silence remained, but not in an uncomfortable way.

Rather, the silence seemed to fit the situation.

The two sharing their secrets seemed to create a bond that didn't require words to be spoken for one to understand the other.

The smiles on their faces gave the other the answer to the question of 'How have you slept?'.

Yet there was only so much silence could answer.

"Eto, could I ask you a question?"

Raising her head from her cup of coffee, she saw the semi-serious look adorning Kage's face.

Adopting one of her own, Eto's green eyes firmly looked into Kage's violet ones.

"Sure, go ahead."

"Last night, you said something about a group called the Aogiri Tree and that you were their leader. You also mentioned wanting to wipe out the CCG. It slipped by me at first, but, why tell me all of those things? I mean, I appreciate it, but you did only know me for a day."

Pondering on her answer for a short while, Eto formulated the answer inside her head.

Was it truly her mission of recruiting for Aogiri or her guilt that led her to spill everything out.

The answer was already clear to Eto.

Yet from the answer, only more questions seemed to arise. Why feel guilt now, when she didn't feel it when killing others.

It was far from the first time that Eto had lied to someone, so the lie itself didn't seem to be the problem.

Maybe it was Kage telling her his past that developed the guilt inside of her. He did, after all, have a similar past to hers.

The silence lingered for a few more moments until Eto's voice reached Kage's ears for the first time of the day.

"You had to find out at some point. I'm sure you already know that the number of RC cells a Ghoul has impacts their scent. We'll your's felt quite strong. As the leader, a part of the recruitment duties fall on me, so I followed you in hopes of getting you to join us. Then ... with all that happened at Anteiku, I guess I felt guilty and told you everything last night. The offer still lies on the table, but I would understand if you don't want to take it. After all, there are a lot of bad rumors going around about us."

Taking in all that Eto had told him, Kage's gaze traveled to his cup of coffee. Eto was right, rumors were going around about Aogiri, and not all of them were pretty. None of them were.

They all spoke of Aogiri in a bad way, saying they were making trouble for other Ghouls with their actions. Even some of the more violent Ghouls preferred not to associate themselves with Aogiri.

Yet, from what Kage heard from Eto, they wanted peace by destroying the CCG.

While Kage was aware that maybe she just wanted to get him on Aogiri's side, he was very well aware that she might not look at it that way. After all, not everyone sees everything in the same light.

So, what might seem to some Ghouls as an unnecessary war, to Eto it probably looked like a path to peace. A path filled with thorns and hardships, but a path none the less.

In the end, he knew what it was like. Looking for his mother and father, he was met with a lot of obstacles, most of which he is still trying to get around.

The way Eto spoke about her goal gave Kage a feeling that she both knew what she was doing, and had complete trust in her plan.

Hell, a few rumors circled that Aogiri had connections everywhere in Tokyo. This could help Kage spread his search for his mother and father tremendously.

Along with helping his search, Aogiri shared a common goal with Kage. While on the outside Kage may seem indifferent to the events around him, he very much wanted peace.

He had always presumed that his mother and father left him due to the strained relations between Ghouls and Humans made it almost impossible for a child to be raised, especially a child that was a mix of the two.

He knew the pain of growing up around those that weren't his parents. While Yoshimura and the other workers at Anteiku provided Kage with love and attention, it wasn't the same as the love and attention a mother could give.

Feeling that his parents had a good reason for leaving him, he never held a grudge against them. Instead, he wished to find them and talk to them, first find their reasons for leaving him and then getting to know them better.

And thus knowing the pain of growing up without parents, always told to hide and not show the humans his Ghoul side in fear of the CCG, Kage wanted to make sure that no other Ghoul had to feel such a feeling.

He was prepared to make peace, and now he had a chance to help out with it.

"You know..."

The voice of the Anteiku waiter grabbed Eto's attention, lifting her gaze from her cup of coffee. She was quite conflicted.

She had no idea of Kage's goals except for finding his father and mother, something she wanted to help him out with.

Despite knowing his past, he remained a mystery whose goals didn't seem clear.

"... I should be getting my mask in a few days, from then on you can count me as an official member of Aogiri."

Blinking a few times, Eto heard the sentence echo in her head. After all, all of her thoughts were long gone.

Surprised at the answer, she didn't know how to respond. To an extent, she had expected the answer, but not so quickly. Rather, she expected a time spent with him thinking the offer through, weighing his options.

Instead, what she got was a quick and seemingly honest answer. Feeling that she managed to recruit another strong ally, her excitement got the best of her as she quickly latched her arms around Kage's neck, and placing her lips on his.

Moments of silence filled the room once more, as Kage sat with Eto's arms around his neck, still in shock.

But not one to disappoint such a beautiful woman, he began to kiss back. Caught up in the heat of the moment, Eto failed to realize what she had done.

Only after a solid half a minute passed did her senses finally catch up to her. Opening her eyes, she thought the sight of a surprised Kage would welcome her back.

Instead, she felt his lips moving along her own in the second kiss that they shared with his eyes gently closed.

Another couple of seconds passed before Eto pulled away and sat down in her chair once more, her eyes tightly shut with her head dropped down.

"G-G-Gomenasai."

The silent voice only barely reached Kage as he looked at the embarrassed form of Eto.

Even though only one other person was in the room with her, Eto felt as if the whole world was watching, some laughing at her while others stared in mute shock.

The same feelings that she had related to Kage began to arise again. She could still feel his lips against hers, despite breaking the kiss a few seconds ago.

And just when she felt she was at her lowest, Eto felt a hand gently grab her chin and lift her head. Looking into the purple eyes of the One-Eyed Ghoul, a peacefull sensation washed over Eto. Her senses began coming back and all the pressure from earlier washed away.

"You're pretending like we didn't kiss last night, a lot more passionately than this."

The blood rushed to Eto's cheeks, giving her an evident blush, but only this time it felt comfortable. Chuckling once, Kage leaned his head on his left hand like earlier and continued looking into her eyes.

"S-So now what?"

Referring to the situation at hand, Eto's stutter was evident as she had still to completely recover from both her actions and Kage's.

"Well, I guess we could try our hands at this dating thing. To be honest, I never did have a girlfriend, and judging from your reaction, you don't seem to have much experience either. Besides, Kaguya-Chan is already calling us her parents. We can't disappoint, now can we?"

The smirk on his face drew a smile on Eto's face as she looked at him. His hair still in the bun that she did for him during the previous evening, along with the two bangs on the sides of his face.

"Ohayoo, Otoo-San, Okaa-San."

A silent voice reached the two sitting in the chairs. They saw Kaguya's small frame, covered by a white shirt and sweatpants that Eto gave her that were more than a couple of numbers too big for her.

Both sent the little girl a warm smile as she rubbed her eyes with her sleeves. They warmed up to the little girl just as quick as she warmed up to them. Knowing what it was like to be without parents brought the trio closer than they could have imagined.

Approaching the table, Kaguya sat down in a chair next to Kage and leaned on his arm. Her eyes still felt heavy and she seemed to have a hard time keeping them open.

Smiling at the petite girl, Eto quickly got up to prepare breakfast for the three. While she didn't know what was the unknown feeling that took over her body, a person experienced in the matter would say that her maternal instincts are kicking in.

Quickly preparing the best sandwiches she knew, Eto grabbed a plate and placed each sandwich on one. Placing the plates in front of the two, Eto sat down in silence as well.

Noticing the little girl wasn't waking up any time soon, Kage gently grabbed her by the shoulder and lightly shook her to try and wake her up.

"C'mon, Kaguya-Chan, it's time for breakfast."

The black orbs began to slowly open up. A few blinks later, Kaguya saw Eto biting into the sandwich. Aware that Eto was a Ghoul, a shocked expression appeared on the young girl's face.

Switching her gaze to the person she called Otoo-San, she saw him biting into his sandwich as well before finally looking at the plate in front of her.

She had already tried human food and threw up as a result. So how could two people she knew were Ghouls eat like it was regular human meat?

Seeing the untouched sandwich on the petite girl's plate, Eto wondered if she ever ate real food after all-

"Kaguya-Chan, why are- Ohhh, Gomenasai."

A sheepish look popped up on Eto's face, rubbing the back of her head. She then grabbed the plate in front of Kaguya and placed it back on the countertop.

It grabbed both the attention of Kage and Kaguya as she walked towards her fridge. Opening it up, they saw a stash of human meat inside, with Eto pulling out a semi-large piece.

Another plate, with the piece of human meat on it, was placed in front of the still confused Ghoul girl. Her confusion only rose as she saw her Otoo-San and Okaa-San continuing with their meal like nothing happened.

"What's wrong Kaguya-Chan?"

Kage's voice seemed to bring her back from her moment of shock. After all, it's not every day that you see Ghouls eating human food.

"H-How c-can you eat h-human food?"

The older teens shared a look before realizing they haven't explained to the young Ghould their characteristics.

"Well, you see Kaguya-Chan, I and your Otoo-San aren't completely Ghouls."

Seeing the confused look grow larger, Kage picked up where Eto began.

"Both of us had parents, Kaguya-Chan, it's just that that one of them was a Ghoul while the other one was a human. In turn, that gives us the ability to eat human food."

In truth, it was something that Kage found out on accident. By the time he was ten, Yoshimura theorized that his father or mother was a human, which was a reason for his one Kakugan.

So, in the form of an experiment, Kage decided to try human food. Up until then, he was explicitly told not to, but upon learning that he potentially could eat human food, he couldn't stop himself.

So you can only imagine the shocked expression on Kage's face as he ate his first strawberry. After a few foods, later on, he decided that the strawberry won the taste competition in the end.

But learning he could eat human food helped Kage tremendously in hiding his presence among humans. While others had to throw up what human food they ate, Kage would simply digest it.

At the time, the information Kage and Eto gave to Kaguya seemed to suffice her curiosity and she soon turned to her piece of meat, which she began to quickly devour.

Living in the world that they lived in, it was hard to explain certain things to children. It didn't matter if they were Ghouls or Humans. And that didn't only include the physiology of the other.

Rather, the hardest thing to explain was the way they treated each other. The strained relations, the constant bouts and the way they treated the other seemed to bite at the children's curiosity, all the while leaving the grown-ups to look mutely at their children while thinking of an answer.

It even seemed like they didn't know why they did what they did, but rather just continued with what everyone else did. And so, the constant loop of hate for the other continued, with no end in sight.

But, each keeping their thoughts to themselves, they continued to eat their breakfast.

Timeskip

After a short yet tasteful breakfast, after which a discussion of where to have Kaguya stay, Kage and Eto decided it would be best to have Kaguya stay at Anteiku.

Eto did have a career as a writer to keep alive, as well as lead the Aogiri along the way. She needed peace and quiet combined with a lot of free time, something that she wouldn't get much of with an eleven-year-old girl in her home.

Meanwhile, the situation was a lot better with Kage. Spending most of his time at Anteiku, he could always watch over her, and if he couldn't, the others wouldn't be against helping him out.

They already raised Kage, another child, which has already grown up, seems like a piece of cake compared to the One-Eyed Ghoul.

Kage already knew they wouldn't stop him from bringing her into Anteiku. He spent long enough to learn how they thought, hell, he even what they would say before they would say it.

Spending so much time with someone makes you learn their habits, patterns of speech, even their movement.

A helpless girl who was nearly raped and eaten was never gonna be rejected by Anteiku. While the management at Anteiku was strong, they had their soft spots.

The years spent caring for other Ghouls seemed to give others an edge they could use against Anteiku, something that Kage didn't like. While Anteiku did have control over the Twentieth Ward, there were always Ghouls prepared to fight them.

And they would use whatever they could get their hands on.

Holding the little girl's hand, the two walked along the sidewalk in silence. Not much needed to be said, as Kage had already told Kaguya what she needed to know about Anteiku before they began their walk to the coffee shop.

Not being able to wear the blood-covered hoodie, Kage was given one of Eto's yellow sweaters. It was a tad bit short, but comfortable none the less. It had a nice smell to it, though Kage couldn't pinpoint what it exactly was.

It had been about forty-five minutes since Kage and Kaguya left Eto's apartment. They walked the entire time and even dropped by for a box of pocky.

Accidentally, Kage offered some to Kaguya, forgetting about her being a Ghoul. It would take time to get adjusted to, as Kage always ate by himself. It wasn't a problem as he could eat anything with Eto, but with Kaguya it was different.

It was rare to see Kage eat the meat of any kind when not hunting. After finding out his ability to eat Human Food, he preferred it over the bodies of those he killed or found dead.

But, on any of his hunts, the ... scenes were quite brutal. Not wanting to waste time, Kage was always one for the explosive approach, often leaving the body parts of Ghouls scattered in an alley.

As the CCG discovered the bodies, their confusion grew. The victims were Ghouls, yes, but why would one Ghoul kill another. It could always be a territory thing, but after the first few murders, other Ghouls would know not to come to the Twentieth Ward.

But seeing as how the victims weren't Humans, there was no sort of alarm going off at the CCG. However, despite there being no Human victims, they still needed a way to identify the mysterious killer.

Kira. The Japanese pronunciation of the English word killer seemed to stick as soon as it was said. And so, from that point on, Kage was known as Kira to the CCG.

Despite being able to eat human food, Kage would always go on a hunting spree. Having the appetite that he had, it wasn't an easy task to fulfill his needs.

And so, while the amount of CCG investigators was lower in the Twentieth Ward than in any other, it would probably be even lower if it weren't for Kage, something that he was scolded for by Yoshimura multiple times.

Feeling a drop of rain hit his head, Kage looked up, a pocky in his mouth. He knew there were still a few more minutes of walking to Anteiku and it seemed as if the rain was unavoidable.

While it wouldn't be a problem to run, he knew Kaguya was tired from the walking and would probably slow him down, getting both of them wet.

A surprised squeak came from the little girl, as she felt herself get raised up easily by Kage and placed on his back. Feeling Kaguya tightly wraps her arms around his neck, he began to run towards Anteiku.

While he could go faster, a 'human' leaving a strong gust of wind as he ran by you would lead to quite a lot of attention, would it not?

But despite a lot slower than he could, Kaguya felt the sharp cold wind hit her face as Kage didn't show a sign of stopping. While Kage had originally suggested that they go across the building tops as it was faster, Kaguya wanted to walk instead.

She wanted to see the city, something she, sadly, didn't get to do a lot before. And so, to make her happy, her Otou-San agreed.

But now, their walk was cut short, but even so, Kaguya enjoyed it very much. The simple walk seemed to make the girl even more fond of Kage.

After a minute of running, Kage turned a corner, giving the little girl a the sight of a sign that said 'Anteiku' on it. Running towards it, Kage turned left once more and Kaguya found herself being slowly piggybacked up a flight of stairs.

Finally reaching the top, Kage placed her down, her t-shirt and slightly long jogging pants both a little wet. And while Kage wasn't wet either, he wanted to dry up quickly, he did have a shift to do later.

Kaguya grabbed onto his hand once more and walked into the cafe.

The first thing that Kaguya caught was the tidiness of the cafe. Everything was organized and clean. There weren't that many people inside either.

In fact, there were only two.

At a faraway table, a slender and fairly tall woman sat in one of the chairs. Her chest-length brown hair was loosely tied towards the left side of her shoulder, with three flowers ornamenting it and complementing her brown eyes.

She wore a pale, pastel dress tied at the waist with a braided orange belt, a pale yellow sweater, and a reddish scarf.

Her kind face and caring eyes, along with a smile on her face, followed the movements of the child that seemed to be Kaguya's age and looked very much like the older woman.

Her hair, similar to the older woman, was short and straight as she wore a headband decorated with four-leaf clovers. Her brown eyes gleamed with excitement as she seemed to be telling her mother about something.

Not noticing the pair that entered the door, they continued their conversation until cleared his throat, catching their attention.

At first, the older woman lifted her gaze, expecting to see a fellow Ghoul or Human entering, but at the sight of the young man at the door, her eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly.

Quickly standing up from the chair, she ran at Kage full speed and crashed into him, enveloping him in a hug. Being about half a head taller than the woman, he felt the woman's head rest on his chest with her arms tightly around him.

Smiling, he hugged the woman back.

Noticing something was off, he looked at the young girl still sitting on her chair, hesitant to get up. He followed her line of sight to see that she was looking at Kaguya that was currently hiding behind Kage's legs, peeking out.

Feeling the grip of the woman's arms lighten, his attention shifted back to her. Her brown eyes seemed as if they were glowing while looking at Kage.

"Ryouko-San, what brings you and Hinami-Chan here. I'm glad to see you but you weren't supposed to come for your package until next week."

The package that Kage referred to was a sort of service for Ghouls who couldn't or wouldn't hunt Humans. Taking bodies from suicide victims, often done by Kage and Renji after work hours, they were then sliced up into pieces and delivered to Ghouls in need.

Ryouko and Hinami, along with her husband, were among those Ghouls. The mother and daughter would often come by to see and talk to Kage and then get their package.

But the time for their package wasn't till next week so their appearance confused Kage.

"Asaki said he had ... some business to deal with and he wanted to have me and Hinami away for a few days."

Ah yes, Asaki Fueguchi, referred to as the Ghoul Doctor by Kage, was the husband of Ryouko and father to Hinami. He was also a good friend of those at Anteiku but rarely came as his job kept him in his 'office' for a large portion of his time.

However, he only wanted to protect his wife and daughter, so he jumped at the opportunity of Anteiku helping them with meals.

Of course, Kage was aware of Asaki's business. Through helping out other Ghouls he managed to get himself in some trouble and would have Ryouko and Hinami move out for a day or two until things settled down.

Smiling at the older woman, he felt the tight grip that Kaguya had on his harem pants. Looking down, he saw a shy and afraid look on her face.

Crouching down next to her, Kage moved a strand of her black hair behind her left ear.

"Why don't you go and talk to Hinami-Chan over there, I'm sure that you two will get along."

Looking past Kage's crouched form and then back at his purple eyes, Kaguya couldn't help but notice a smile he sent her way, calming her down.

Nodding her head, she took a deep breath and then walked over to Hinami.

"While they play around, how about you and I have a chat, we haven't done so in a while."

Nodding her head at the teenager's proposal, Ryouko sat at the bar and watched Kage prepare coffee. Being one of the few people close to Kage certainly had its privileges, such as a good coffee.

While rarely making coffee for others, Kage was more than happy to do so for Ryouko. During the time he was a baby, a rush in the cafe would happen, forcing all the workers to stop their watch over Kage and get to work.

In the middle of one such rush, a very young and newlywed Ryouko and Asaki came across a Kage who just learned to walk and was wobbly on his little feet. It was his cuteness and behavior that led Ryouko to pressure Asaki into having a child.

The interaction with the child coincidentally brought the newlyweds and Anteiku closer as Ryouko would sometimes come over to watch over the small child.

And now, seeing the same child from such a long time ago standing half a head taller than her and making coffee for himself and she was ... weird.

In a good kind of way.

Kage would often remind Ryouko that, during his time spent with her, she left a few of her traits on him. A small few, but a few nonetheless.

While unlike Ryouko, Kage supported hunting and fighting, outside of it, at least to those close to him, he was gentle and caring. Of course, the problem was getting through to that side, but a few managed to make it.

Most notably, the small girl calling him Otou-San, and the woman that he kissed this morning.

Setting down a regular coffee in front of Ryouko, Kage sat down on a barstool next to her, an iced-coffee in front of him.

The pair took a few sips, enjoying the silence in between. Their chats would always start out like this. As if assessing the situation, they waited to find something to talk about.

This time, however, it didn't take long, as the little black-haired girl that entered with Kage seemed to eagerly talk about something with Hinami.

"So, Kage-Kun, who's the little cutie?"

"She's my daughter."

Quickly snapping her head towards the person she almost considered a son, her eyes widened as her brain tried to think of a rational solution.

"Calm down, Ryouko-San, I found her yesterday being assaulted by a group of Ghouls. I saved her and ever since she started calling me Otou-San. Now that I think about it, I think I'm getting used to it."

As a response, Kage got the soft giggling of Ryouko. It was something she often did while listening to his antics.

"I never thought that I would hear those words come from your mouth. I always thought that someone would have to force you, Little Sadist."

Using the nickname given to him early on, Ryouko giggled on at Kage. While an angry growl or punch would be the usual reaction, Kage looked at Ryouko as a mother figure.

Having taught him so many things, he treasured the times she would come and have these kinds of conversations with him.

"Her name is Kaguya. That's all I know about her. She didn't tell me anything else, but because she's calling me Otou-San, I don't think she knows who her parents are."

The soft smile on Ryouko's face disappeared, replaced instead with a small frown. No child deserved this. Kage was at least lucky enough to be found while still young and be brought to people that watched over him.

But considering that the child was still alive meant that someone had to give her food and dress her, the only problem was who, and why leave her now?

It angered Ryouko but she was calmed down by the Kage's earlier words. Hopefully, he would take care of her. He was capable of it, that wasn't a problem, the troubling part was his work and hunting times.

It was no secret among those who knew Kage that he had a large appetite. In hopes of not bringing too much attention to the Twentieth Ward, he would target Ghouls, not the more civil ones of course.

But how could he explain coming back home bloody? While he could digest Human food, his Ghoul side yearned for Human flesh, and so, Kage would often fulfill his needs.

"You'll find out more about her as time goes on, Kage-Kun. Now, how are you feeling, and I'm not talking about the situation with the girl."

A sharp and serious look on her face Ryouko more demanded than asked. She felt when something was off with Kage, and while her instincts weren't screaming at her, they still tingled.

Sighing, Kage's gaze bored into the cup of iced coffee.

"I'm fine. It's just that my relationship with Yoshimura hasn't gotten better and I'm no closer to finding parents since I last talked to you."

Rubbing her hand in circles against Kage's back, Ryouko did her best to comfort him.

"If it makes you feel any better, I have a feeling that, if your parents are anything like, they're not gonna go down without a fight. Better yet, I don't think they're gonna go down at all."

Seeing the small smile rising on Kage's face, Ryouko flashed a smile of hers as well. Seeing the young man in a better mood seemed to be contagious for others, and Ryouko always tried to keep him as such.

Talking for a few more minutes the two shared some of the things that happened since the last time they talked.

Timeskip

With the mother and daughter duo leaving the cafe much to the dismay of Kage and Kaguya, who both had a great time with their respective talking partners.

But deciding it would be best to show Kaguya to where she'll be sleeping for the night, Kage made his way towards his room with the little girl in tow.

Finally reaching the floor above Anteiku, the duo walked down the hall, until they reached the door to Kage's apartment.

Pulling the key out of his harem pants, the lock clicked and Kaguya found herself looking into the dark apartment. Partly because of the night combined with the lack of light in Kage's apartment, it seemed like a scene similar to a horror movie.

But it rather reminded Kaguya of her past, a past that Kage would learn of soon enough.

Turning on the lights around the house after seeing the discomfort that Kaguya had with the darkness, he gave her a small tour of where everything was.

"And last but definitely not least, your new bedroom."

Walking in behind Kage, Kaguya saw the slightly messy bedroom. A few sketch-pads layed around along with a laptop and a mini-fridge to the side.

Across the bed, a wooden office table along with the wall behind it was covered with papers. The most prominent one was the large map of Tokyo and covered in dots in specific Wards.

Deciding it would be best if she didn't press Kage about it, Kaguya watched in silence as Kage cleared out some of the junk laying around.

Sitting down on her bed, Kage saw that the body of the little girl had yet to move. Her gaze was on the ground and she seemed to be fidgeting in place.

"Hey, Kaguya-Chan, sit down, I want to tell you something."

Stopping her fidgeting, she timidly and quietly walked over to the bed and sat down on it, her gaze still not meeting Kage's eyes.

"Listen, if there's anything you need, you can come to me first. I'll always listen to what you have to say."

Not lifting up her head, she looked at Kage from the corner of her eyes, her fidgeting returning under his gaze.

"I ... I do have ... something to tell you."

Seeing that she was uncomfortable with the topic Kage thought that it would be best if she waited for a better time.

"If you feel uncomfortable, you don't have to force yourself."

"No, I think you need to know this."

A few moments of silence passed by as Kage patiently waited for the little girl to begin talking. Having only seen her cheerfull side so far, it was a weird change of pace to see her unsure and unconfident.

"M-My mother raised by herself because my father ran away. S-She said it was my fault h-he w-was gone a-a-and she b-began t-to h-hit me."

Seeing the tears falling down her cheeks a sinking feeling presented itself inside Kage's chest. Nearing her, he enveloped her in a hug and let her cry into his chest.

"S-She beat m-me e-ever s-since I k-know about m-myself. W-When I-I was e-eight s-she sold me t-to s-some sort of o-old woman and she b-brought m-me and o-other k-kids to f-fight in front of people. W-When you f-found me I-I ran a-away from t-them b-b-b-"

Kaguya was cut off by more tears pouring, but a small comfort was brought to her by Kage rubbing circles into her back. Eventually, as a few minutes passed, Kage heard her light snoring.

Not wanting to wake her up as she looked peaceful, he only layed back with Kaguya still on his chest, protectively hugging her with both of his arms.

'Noone will ever harm you again, Kaguya-Chan.'


End file.
